ART OF THE BODY

Janet is caught between care work and caring for herself. Her life revolves around Sean, a talented fine art student, living and working with cerebral palsy. Both Janet and Sean are new to London and far from their families and both are finding a means of escape through pushing their bodies to the limit. When Sean is faced with an unexpected and deeply personal tragedy, his carer Janet must let her guard down at last and discover what she's prepared to fight for. The whole concept of Sean's art he is able to produce with Janet's help is deeply moving, drawing attention to his body and disability but on his own terms in his own highly original and powerful ways. Shocking and different, this a raw and rather beautiful and unflinching look inside the life of a disabled person and their relationship with their carer, a novel about dignity and intimacy, tenderness and brutality. 259pp, fairly large print.